Debt swaps can improve a country’s overall debt profile, and the savings can be invested in development projects and climate action.
Dr. Pepukaye Bardouille is Director of the Bridgetown Initiative and Special Advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office, Barbados; Dr. Rania Al-Mashat is Egypt’s Minister of Planning, Economic Development & International Cooperation, and previously held senior roles at the International Monetary Fund and the Central Bank of Egypt.
As COP30 approaches, countries face pressure to raise climate ambition, notably by updating their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
But ambition without means is just aspiration.
Many nations are grappling with shrinking aid, rising debt service costs, and worsening